Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization

With it being the first SAO game set outside the anime, it does a good job of creating a new story, even if it takes some time to get going.

This new installment of the Sword Art saga comes to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita with brand new gameplay and great graphics that will be entertaining for the fans of the saga.

This is simply a must play for Sword Art Online fans. For those interested in the world and action, the narrative does a decent enough job introducing returning characters, with the option to skip the reintroduction for returning players, allowing Hollow Realization to serve as a perfectly fine entry point into the series. Overall, this is easily the best Sword Art Online game yet. Hopefully, the trend will continue into the future.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is a good JRPG. It's made with diligence, dedicated to anime fans from which it's drawn, but also suitable for simple lovers of the genre.

SAO Hollow Realization is an interesting MMORPG Simulator that fans of the saga will like. The Japanese voices and the ambience are its strengths, but its complex battle system and the modest variety of missions and enemies can subtract interest.

Yes, the visuals are far from perfect, the multiplayer is scraggy while the character editor is superficial, but on the other hand the MMO atmosphere is convincing and the scenario is interesting.

I feel conflicted about Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, because while it’s never been more interesting to play as a game, the fact that its narrative is typical of latter-day Sword Art Online stories has actually become something of a liability.

An MMO without social obligations is a nice concept in and of itself. The story's decent and the gameplay amusing. Mediocre graphics put a bit of a damper on things though.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is an enormous title, especially when compared to his most recent predecessor. Unfortunately the game is once again devoid of a charismatic antagonist and a solid storyline.

Its production values might make it look like an average game, but once we get into it we discover how much it has to offer. If you enjoyed the franchise before, it won't disappoint you. 

Good sequel of one of the most unique and enjoyable JRPGs out there. The Cross Save function between PS4 and PS Vita is a good addition.

Hollow Realization does a splendid job in providing solid gameplay and producing an original story. As a player who does not like replaying the same story told in other mediums, Hollow Realization was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise repetitive series. The amount of character customization, party options, and side quests will be sure to keep players satisfied.

A game sustained by its combat system and its attractive history, although it is so repetitive.

Hollow Realization is easily the best game based on the SAO Series; however its far from perfect. Albeit it offers a functional scheme of controls, a rich world to explore and an ambitious relations system, its weak and boring story, confusing menus and poor character AI make this game a hard test for all those die-hard fans. If you are a desperate gamer then maybe you will have a difficult time with this game; if you prevail all of its flaws, then you will get rewarded with a game that overflows with personality and fanservice.

It's a decent action/ RPG game that emulates well the MMO philosophy and brings to the videogame realm the good times of the TV Series.

Offering an odd mix between an MMO and a more standard RPG Sword Art Online is game of two sides. It tells a decent story and offers decent combat but sometimes feels like these two sides are competing with each other.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization does not depart from the fluctuating quality of its predecessors, with a pleasant story, though designed specifically for fans of the original work, accompanied by a complex and layered gameplay, which, however, has unclear mechanics to challenge even the most experienced of players.

An improperly paced plot and annoying artificial intelligence aside, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is the best Sword Art Online game on PS4. It's utterly packed with content, from the lengthy main campaign and tons of optional side quests all the way through to challenging co-op trials and even dating sim minigames.

The only real problem that Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization has is that it’s a little too steady and a little too laid-back. The premise is that this is Sword Art but without the death, and really without those stakes, and with its tepid narrative, you may begin to question why you’re grinding through so much of the game. That being said, this is the best digital rendition of Sword Art Online thus far, and goes a long way to capturing the essence of the show – warts and all.

Hollow Realization is the strongest iteration of Sword Art Online to date, and an easy recommendation for fans of the anime and previous games.

It’s great to see how far the games have come in terms of managing all those damn menus, presenting an experience that is true to the source material, and figuring out how to take the combat system and make it fun and fluid. But in the end, it feels a bit too safe.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is anything but hollow. There is an almost unbelievable amount of story content, with side stories piled high on top of that.

This is clearly a jRPG developed only for the fans of the genre.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is yet another licensed anime game that does not live up to its expectations. While the presentation is a success, lousy storytelling, a broken battle system and dull dialogues ruin the overall experience. The game has no rhythm or anything that makes it worthy of your attention.

A lot of effort was clearly put into Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, because almost every aspect of its gameplay has an underlying set of properties and nuances to come to grips with. While I usually love that kind of complexity, here it rarely felt meaningful or even coherent. Paired with a story that lacks the stakes and urgency of the source material, it leaves Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization feeling pretty tepid aside from its enjoyable combat.

What turns out to be a fun JRPG with a big world to explore and good combat is marred by bad story, bad quests and some diabolical pacing. Only recommended for SAO fans.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is easily the best SAO game made by far. Not only is there plenty of things to do, but the combat, gameplay mechanics, and production is far better than the prior entries. It is clear a lot of work went into making this game, and they continue to add content with nearly every patch they've released so far. Unfortunately, it's weighed down by a low-stakes plot; awful party intelligence; and one too many systems at play. They've an ample amount of potential here, but unless you're a fan of the series or at least have a passing interest, it's difficult to recommend.

In summary this is a game that fans of the genre will love and those new to it will most likely give up on. You can tell there has been a ton of work gone in to tweaking this game, making it clearly the best of the series to date, but the onerous nature of the storyline along with the static nature of the interaction during dialogue will put a lot of people off. Into the series? You will love this game. Hopefully I’ve helped with the pros and cons. Have fun!

Hollow Realization is the best Sword Art Online game to date but that doesn't mean it's great by any means. If you're a fan of the franchise this game is a no brainer as it’s packed with so much content you can put as many hours into it as you would an actual MMO. It’s just a shame that a lot of that content is as Hollow as its name suggests.

While 'Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization' is definitely a step up from its predecessors, it's still too rough around the edges to really appeal to anyone other than fans of the anime. It fails to take advantage of the unique premise, and an unpolished localization makes the game overly confusing in spots. Hopefully 'Sword Art Online' will get a great game adaptation, but that still hasn't happened yet.

The new virtual world of Ainground is just a regular VR game. And this is Hollow Realization's core problem: there is absolutely no motivation to push forward in the game. Kirito and his harem of stereotypes adventure far and wide, but often with no discernable purpose.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization tries to do a lot of things, but it doesn't end up doing any of them terribly well. Every subtle good idea that it has is countered by a glaring shortfall. The open and flexible skill system is held back by its clumsy implementation, and the winding faux-virtual world by how little anything of interest actually occurs in it.